Changes

by Prudence Walker

 

"Prue, Prue, we did it!" exclaimed Kim, as she bounced into the office of the CEO of Hugglebugs limited.

"Kim calm down a second," warned the president of the company, as she hung up the phone and activated the secure mode on the office.

The world had changed since 9/11. Cutting edge research could no longer be discussed in normal offices without the worry that someone might be eavesdropping. With the competition breathing down their necks trying to duplicate their work, Prudence Walker took security very seriously. Her office in the Auckland plant was more of a vault than an office. Solid steel sheet was integrated into the floor, walls and ceiling, making it opaque to all radio frequencies, should a bug ever get past the outer security level. The window too, was part of the faraday cage that doubled as an office. Made up of two separate layers of bombproof glass with a vacuum between them to prevent voice vibrations being transmitted to directional microphones or window mikes, it also was silvered on the outside to make it impossible to see inside. The silvering being metal based, also acted as part of the faraday shield.

"Okay, what did we do now?" Prue asked her head researcher, as she isolated the room electrically and electronically.

Kim waited, until the UPS powered up the lights, as all electrical wiring from the office leading to the rest of the building was physically isolated. This included all network cables and phone lines. No infinity bugs or line taps would ever find a path to this office once it was in secure mode.

"You know the research I've been doing into finding a way of reversing the changes from the permanent nanites? Well I still haven't solved that, but I think I've developed something new … psychic nanites."

Prue knew that mistakes sometimes happened. People selecting a permanent change occasionally wanted to reverse or alter the first choice of form given to them by the revolutionary nanite system affectionately named Hugglebugs.

"Psychic nanites?" echoed Prue. "What do they do?"

"Well you know we usually program the nanites to the customer's specifications… well these don't require that. Once injected, the nanites feed on the mind's image of the form wanted and changes it to suit."

"Wow! That's potentially dangerous. What if you think of the wrong form, or get distracted by something else and become a hybrid of some kind?" muttered Prue.

"Well … there's more. The nanites remain active instead of becoming dormant. You could change your body constantly becoming a sort of human chameleon. The only limits imposed are the changes that deal with size. Going from big to small takes the normal length of time, but going the other way without supplements takes about a week," Kim explained.

"Are you sure of this?" Prue main fear being that if someone unscrupulous got their hands on this batch they could become anyone, herself included. Her life and the lives of others would then be in jeopardy.

"I tried it on myself," Kim volunteered, looking embarrassed.

"What! You tried an untested formula on yourself?" Prue shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist," confirmed a chastened Kim.

Prue waved off the apology, getting up and pacing back and forth across the office floor.

"I'm only angry that you risked your life on an untested product, not because you did it without consent from me. You know I like to ensure that no harm befall anyone using our technology."

"No one else knows, not even Rose," Kim added hastily.

"Good, we need to keep this under wraps," Prue warned.

Rose was their redheaded receptionist who had formerly been a man. An accidental contamination in the early development of the nanites had lead to her former male self being transformed. One of the side effects was that she was constantly lactating, due to the fact that the nanites then in production were meant for increased milk production in cows

"Speaking of Rose, isn't she due anytime?" Prue asked.

"Yes, she's due next week. At least she won't have any trouble feeding them," giggled Kim.

"Yeah, she did mention having twins." Prue smiled before turning her attention to the matter in hand. "Can you demonstrate the nanite for me?"

"Sure," Kim replied, suddenly changing her form to a duplicate of Prue's. Her clothes remained as they had been so were now somewhat ill fitting due to the difference in body size between Prue and Kim, Prue not being as large.

Prue noted that the extra mass had still been lost as water vapour from Kim's mouth and nose, similar to how the normal nanite procedure worked.

"Oh my lord! This is eerie," Prue gasped seeing herself twinned so easily.

"Isn't it wicked?" Grinned Kim, doing a twirl and nearly losing her skirt in the process.

"Sure, but next time use a skirt with an elasticised waistline if you're going to do me impressions," giggled Prue, as Kim grabbed at her falling skirt.

"Are you saying I have fat hips?" retorted Kim, half seriously.

"No never, I'm just more petite than you," Prue hurried to reply.

"Good answer," smirked Kim with Prue's face.

"Um, hadn't we better change back?" Prue pointed out, seemingly disconcerted at being smirked at by her own face.

Before she began changing back to herself Kim went over and poured herself a large glass of the milk that Prue kept in her office fridge. It took longer to do it this time, as her body had to assimilate energy from the food in her stomach to make up the mass. Kim had to drink nearly all the milk Prue had, before she finally regained her normal appearance.

"I see that part of the change is still the same," Prue remarked.

"You need to try this. It will solve your concerns over being transformed by those who may have obtained a sample of Hugglebugs." Kim pressed, thinking back to the batch of permanently programmed nanites that had been stolen a month earlier.

Prue thought about it. It was true that someone might be able to inject her with a permanent form not her own in order to disrupt or possibly take over her company. She had thought of using a permanent nanite using her own form, but that would mean she'd never be able to avail herself of her own technology ever again.

"What happens if I use it and then come into contact with a new batch of temp or permanent form of Hugglebugs?"

"We can find out soon enough," volunteered Kim, excitedly.

"Yourself as the guinea pig again no doubt?" Prue asked.

"Well you know me, nothing's Kim possible," was the amused answer.

"You're ever the Kimmediene," Prue snorted as she shut down the secure mode for the office.

~~~~~

"Well we know now," mused Kim, as she studied the readouts on her blood toxicology.

"It looks as if any nanites introduced after the new batch, still have an effect, but after the programmed change you can revert back to your original form even if the sample was for a permanent change." Prue stated, looking over Kim's shoulder.

"It stripped off the code markers that make it a permanent change," offered Kim, feeling pleased with herself.

"Okay, I'm willing to try the new batch, but after that, I want the samples destroyed. It would be catastrophic if this got into the hands of anyone else."

"Okay, you're the boss," agreed Kim.

"One more thing," Prue continued, as she checked the readings on the computer screen. "Can the new strain be extracted from a blood sample and transferred to someone else?"

"No, that I'm certain of," Kim replied confidently. "When I was designing it, I made sure the nanites, once introduced to a DNA sample would only work for the person selected. It's not transferable. In fact I was thinking of putting that property in all our other batches."

"I guess we do need to do that these days. Our normal batches normally go dormant after the change and are slowly broken down and excreted over time." Prue mused. "But if someone was monitoring who was getting a sample, it's conceivable they could extract a blood sample and use it on someone else."

"Yeah but what good will that do? They would only change into the customer's choice of body." Kim argued.

"Ah, but if they then disposed of the original, they could pretend to be that person. Remember we do supply a new set of documentation to go along with the new form. Terrorists and criminals could become anyone and have a new legal identity to continue their crimes." Prue pointed out.

"Ouchies, that would suck, but then I wouldn't mind seeing Ben Laden stuck as a baby girl," laughed Kim.

"Don't even joke about that. I'd never consider rewarding him like that," Prue protested vehemently.

"Sorry, you're right of course. Punishment or reward, I guess it's all in the POV."

"Has Michelle come up with any leads as to who stole the missing shipment?" Kim asked, changing the subject.

"Not yet," answered Prue, with a pensive expression on her face. "She said she had some leads, which is better than nothing."

"Well if anyone can crack the case, she can. With that mind and that body …" Kim left the rest unsaid.

"Michael was a great detective before her change, and with that super model body, she got even better." Prue agreed.

"Well with those bazookas of hers she's hardly unarmed, and when she does the airhead bimbo act, she can get anyone to confess," Kim grinned.

"I think I'll give her a call, once we're finished here," Prue replied, as she checked her cell phone for any messages.

A sharp rumble went through the underground laboratory, startling both Prue and Kim. Alarms started sounding and they heard the emergency generator kick in.

Prue raced to a desk and switched to the security camera server. She knew that such a rumble in the specially constructed laboratory meant a significant explosion upstairs. The external camera's that were still working told the story. Someone had left a car bomb outside, or so the wreckage suggested. Several of the cameras were blown off and a lot of damage to the front of the factory could be seen from the PTZ camera. As Prue panned and zoomed the camera with the joystick, she felt a sense of relief that the main structure seemed intact, as well as the reception area on the ground floor.

Most of the damage appeared to be to the factory across the street and power lines lay in the street from the poles destroyed in the blast.

"I'm going up, stay here and finish," ordered Prue. She left, making sure the hermetically sealed doors from the laboratory to the rest of the building were sealed, and that the nanite containment systems were all fully functional.

As Prue went upstairs, she heard the growing sounds of sirens as emergency vehicles started arriving. "Everyone okay?" Prue shouted, as she reached the reception area.

"Yes nobody hurt here," Rose's voice called from behind Prue. Prue spun to see Rose bringing a first aid kit from the kitchenette.

"I'm going over the road to see if anyone over there needs help," Rose explained, as she waddled past.

"Stop, it's not safe, especially in your condition," Prue ordered, taking Rose's arm in a firm grip.

"But…"

"Look, the fire service and the ambulance are here, let them do it. It was a bomb Rose! This wasn't an accident," explained Prue.

"Oh my," gasped Rose, quickly realising the significance of Prue's words.

Prue looked over the mess in reception. Some debris from the explosion had entered the main door and left a trail of wreckage in the wind lobby floor. The second door leading into the reception proper had withstood the force of the explosion, as had the surrounding windows made of Alon, the new transparent Aluminium just developed. The Aluminium Oxynitride windows had cost a small fortune, but seeing the undamaged glass, Prue was glad of her precautions.

Just then, her cell phone rang. It was Michelle.

"Prue? I think both you and Kim are in danger," Michelle told her over the phone.

"Um, your news is a few minutes late," sighed Prue, who then filled Michelle in on the current situation.

"Damn, they might have people watching the place. Maybe they hope to gain entry in the confusion." Michelle speculated.

"If so, they will be disappointed that the place is relatively undamaged," Prue pointed out.

"Yeah, but they might try snatching you or Kim," Michelle replied.

"So what did you find out?" asked Prue, moving to her office.

"I think the stolen shipment went missing from the courier van after it arrived in the states. The word on the street is that a multinational company in the U.S. is after the formula to Hugglebugs."

"I don't suppose that company had anything to do with that disaster in Texas last year?" Asked Prue.

"You got it."

"Look, I want you to come here, but first I need you to pick up some clothing for us. Kim and I will be leaving the factory tonight in disguise."

"Female clothing, I gather?" asked Michelle curiously.

"Yeah, but something in our approximate size that we wouldn't be seen dead in," replied Prue with a sigh.

"Okay, but don't get mad with what I come up with, boss."

Prue hung up and went back to see Kim with the news.

"Remember that disaster where nanites were used to try and cure cancer patients in Texas?" Prue prompted once she and Kim were together again.

"The one where the patients died after turning into organic goo?" Kim shuddered at the thought.

"Yes, well the company that tried that is now after our nanites. Michelle seems to think they were responsible for our missing shipment."

"They are trying to get the secret of how we maintain the existing DNA during the change?" Kim mused. "That's really the trick isn't it? Changing the gene sequence to form the new body without it becoming organic soup."

"One we need to maintain at all costs," agreed Prue, as she outlined her hastily conceived plan.

It was late in the day before the police had finished questioning the local businesses and the emergency crews had finished clearing up the debris and restored power. The people still in the factory had finished cleaning up and began leaving for home. Prue had arranged private transport for everyone and told them the factory was closing for a while.

The security detail which would be maintaining a 24-hour watch for the foreseeable future logged in for the night shift, after being warned to be on guard for possible intruders. Prue had arranged for new cameras to be fitted to replace those lost in the explosion. Manning the security desk, the guards saw two figures leaving the factory and climbing aboard a taxi that had been summoned earlier. They would have been shocked to know that one was the president of the company and the other was the chief researcher, such was their disguises.

Once underway, the taxi driver took off her cap and let her blonde tresses flow down her shoulders. She looked anxiously at her passengers, waiting for the blowup she was expecting. They were unrecognisable as the two she knew them to be.

The two mismatched women in the back seat of the taxi looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"Where did you get these things from, the salvation army?" Asked the pink plastic vinyl dressed teen.

"What about my Aunt Sadie outfit?" complained the older figure in her matronly dress.

"You don't want to know … trust me," replied Michelle from the front of the taxi.

"So which one of you is the boss? I didn't think we did old lady forms. I can't see the appeal in it, must be a niche market," Michelle prattled on. Keeping one eye on her passengers, she nearly ran a red light as both women started changing back to their original forms, well, make that their faces anyway.

"Whoah! How did you do that?" yelped Michelle, as she narrowly avoided a pile up at the intersection. A blaring of horns behind her made her respond to the disgruntled driver behind with a one fingered salute out the window. Luckily the light changed, before the driver behind decided to take his complaint further, as Michelle burned rubber.

Prue filled Michelle in about the new formula, after getting her promise of silence on the discovery.

"Damn, I wish I could have that ability," she sighed. "It would make my job a breeze. Talk about being under cover."

"Unfortunately, you took a permanent form of nanite, which guards against all new nanites entering your body," explained Prue.

"If I can ever get past those nanite defenders, we could give you a sample," Kim stated, getting a nod of acceptance from Prue.

"So what now? You two off to the land of the free?" Michelle asked, keeping an eye on the following traffic as she wove through the busy streets of Auckland.

"Want to join us? I'm sure we could do with your talent," enquired Prue with a grin.

"Ah, the token blonde bimbo huh?" Michelle retorted, making smacking sounds with her lips, simulating chewing gum.

"She's good," Kim giggled. "She can chew virtual gum and drive at the same time."

"You call this driving," mocked Prue with a laugh, as the taxi swerved dangerously around a bus, and pulled into a driveway that took the cab out of sight of the road.

In the house used for their international visitors, the three planned their next move. They came up with new disguises for Kim and Prue, while Michelle booked the soonest flights out to the US for them.

"Wow! I didn't realise how many false identities you have built up over the years," exclaimed Prue, as she looked over the mass of passports and personal documentation laid out on the table.

"It's all valid and up to date. When I travel to the plant in Silicon Valley, I alternate my identity so each gets used," grinned Michelle.

"Looks like we're all going to be blonde for the trip over," sighed Prue.

"I guess it will be hard playing a mindless bimbo," Kim giggled.

"Like, wow, y'all know what tah do, don'tcha. Disengage brain before opening yah yapper," Prue replied in an awful rendition of valley girl.

"Anymore of that and you'll fly alone," Michelle promised with a grimace.

Prue squeaked, "Sorry," holding her hands up in surrender.

They all laughed, before going over plans for their next move.

Michelle decided to join them later. She wanted to poke around by the factory to see if she could discover anything new. Prue and Kim would fly out together using two of Michelle's alternate identities.

Michelle showed them her special arsenal that would pass the new airport security measures. Prue looked at the innocent looking contraceptive foils with several empty capsules showing it was in use. That, along with the foil card of Midol looked innocent enough, belying the hidden potential of their real properties. Both Kim and Prue added the small pen sized perfume atomisers into their voluminous purses, checking that they both were on the perfume setting and not the temporary nanite spray setting.

"Okay, we will contact you on our arrival," Prue told Michelle, knowing no contact by cell phone would be possible while enroute in the aircraft.

Michelle ran them to the airport in her own car and let them out at the international departure entry.

"Good luck," she offered as she said goodbye.

"See you there," Prue offered, waving goodbye to Michelle.

Michelle drove to a local diner to get some dinner, knowing she'd likely to be working late. Afterwards, she drove directly to the factory and parked down the street. She walked the last hundred metres, ducking under the warning tapes that still cordoned off the road in front of the factory. She had to flash her company investigator's badge to the forensic guys still poking around. They let her through reluctantly, after getting her promise not to disturb anything.

After walking around the marked out areas representing the exploded car and the debris field, Michelle was struck by something odd. For what remained of the vehicle, there was surprisingly little damage to the surrounding buildings. While the factory bore the brunt of the attack the relatively non-reinforced buildings nearby only had superficial damage, with mainly broken window damage being the obvious signs.

Michelle then walked to the factory, inspecting the reception door that had been checked for damage by the security door specialists. Guards patrolling inside opened the door for her after checking her security clearance. Michelle checked Prue's office with a scanner, but found it was still bug free and secure. She went down to the lab, only to hear a howl from the protection measures as she opened the outer door of the hermetic airlock and stepped inside. She sealed the outer door quickly and checked the readouts there to check that the lab was still secure.

The readouts indicated an unknown nanite had entered the airlock from the outside, obviously entering when she did. Michelle activated the cleaning systems and then she went into the decontamination booth and stripped out of her clothes. Those went into a furnace chute and she stepped into a special shower that stung her skin as it stripped off any remaining contaminants. She was then blow dried in the booth, and diagnostics checked she was free of any nanites, before she donned sterile clothing from sealed bags.

In the airlock itself, the air was pumped through special filters that collected anything detrimental to security. Once the air had been flushed several times, the room was flooded with microwaves and then flushed again. Michelle was allowed back into the airlock once the place was cleared as secure again. Only then did Michelle open the inner door to the lab and go to the section where the unknown nanites had been collected.

Although not an expert on nanites, Michelle did have a working knowledge of the equipment and procedures to analyse the properties of rogue nanites. She took the sealed container from the collector and took it to the analysing machine, making sure everything was sealed before a sample was taken.

The first procedure was a visual one. Under a high magnification scope, she could see that some of the nanites were inactive, probably from the last flush after being exposed to the magnetron field. The active ones were very crude compared with those the company produced. With relief, Michelle saw that these were not transformational nanites, but rather designed to clump together a form a tiny device.

Michelle then had the live sample analysed by a specialist machine that would interrogate the nanites and determine their purpose. Once the results came in, Michelle gasped as she realised these were a tracker bug, designed to attach to people and send out a low power radio pulse. She reached for her cell phone before realising that Prue wouldn't be able to receive the warning while in flight because of the ban on cell phone use in aircraft.

Michelle did a few tests on the device the nanites made of themselves. One test was to find how to destroy them and or stop them working. Armed with a way to stop them, Michelle destroyed the nanites in situ and made her way out of the lab. Knowing that once the outer door was opened the airlock would be flooded again, Michelle set the cleaner cycle to operate after she left.

"Bob? I need a favour," Michelle pleaded over her cell. "No nothing like that, I need a jet to fly me to the states. Prue's in trouble," she told her friend.

The flight was long, but uneventful for Prue and Kim. They sat in different rows to minimise the possibility of being recognised as twins. Even though Kim was now a blonde and Prue was a red head, their similar faces might trigger questions from the hostesses that plied their trade along the aisles. They landed at L.A. and collected their luggage before they passed through customs.

They had a 30 minute wait before their next flight to Houston. It was a flight they never caught. Two men came up to them, and without warning, sprayed both Prue and Kim in the face with some sort of aerosol. Prue was already inhaling at that moment and the effects hit immediately. Her senses reeled and things got very fuzzy. She could hear the man whisper in her ear, telling her to obey their commands. She felt dissociated from her body as it started to walk seemingly on its own. Deep in her mind, she realised they had been sprayed with some kind of powerful hypnotic.

 

Michelle knew she was cutting it close. The jet she was on had landed only 5 minutes after the one her friends were on. Having bought nothing but hand baggage, she knew she would pass customs quickly. Once she was clear of customs she retrieved her cell phone and tried calling Prue, but all she got was her voice mail. Kim's phone responded similarly. Obviously they were still turned off. She dashed from the private terminal where she'd gone through customs, hoping that her friends would take longer to process through the main customs area.

Michelle hurried through the throng of passengers as best she could looking around for Prue and Kim. She had a hand tracker tuned to the nanite bugs pulsed frequency and with it turned on; she closed on their current position. Unfortunately, she was seconds too late as she saw them with two men who were holding them close and leading them away.

Michelle instinctively knew her friends were in danger, but on the other hand, she knew this was just the kind of situation that could crack this case. Deciding that it would be foolish to attempt a rescue against two men, she decided to follow.

Prue and Kim were led to a blue Ford panel van, where their luggage was tossed into the rear. One man got in the drivers door while the women were bundled into the side door with other man. Michelle watched all this as she hailed a cab from the rank. Once on the road, Michelle made a few calls.

Prue's awareness of her surroundings was like looking though a long tunnel with just a small opening at the end, showing the world around her. In her confused state she could hear voices, but they sounded like garble, as if spoken underwater. Eventually, they were taken to a large building where the light in the van grew dim as it drove inside.

The men took both women and lead them into an office where they were securely tied to the office chairs. One started asking questions, which were in turn answered by the somnolent women. The part of Prue that remained alert in her head couldn't hear the questions clearly, but obviously the answers didn't need her co-operation, as her unconscious mind under the hypnotic control clearly answered them for her. It seemed the answers the men heard satisfied them for the moment and they then left, after checking that the ropes were still firmly binding them.

Michelle had followed the van in the cab to a warehouse. Once she was satisfied that the signal on her tracer was stationary, she made another call. She had the driver of the cab stop further up the street, while she waited for the rental car to be delivered to her location.

Inside, the women could feel the drug beginning to wear off. For Prue, the tunnel end seemed to be getting nearer as her body became more aware. The knots around her hands were firm and resisted all her efforts.

"Kim, are you awake?" she called softly to her companion.

"Yeah, I still feel groggy though," complained Kim, shaking her head warily.

"Can you get free?" Prue asked hopefully.

Kim tested her bonds, then seemed to relax for a moment. After a minute she had one hand free and Prue had a moments fear she'd injured herself, before realisation sank in. When Kim had pulled her hand free, she didn't actually have a hand, only a stump. Prue realised with relief that Kim had used her transforming powers to free herself by absorbing her hand into a stump that slid free from her bonds.

It only took a minute more before Kim was free and she helped untie Prue from the chair. Prue could see Kim was already rebuilding her hand, as fingers were again forming. Decision time once more. Prue tested the door, finding it unlocked. She eased it open, hearing the two men talking nearby.

"We have two women from the company. One is apparently a secretary and the other one is from sales. No I don't think so, they don't fit the descriptions," she heard one say.

"They should be out for another hour or two," the man continued, obviously using a phone to inform his boss. "You'd better get here soon if you wish to question them further," he added to the person on the phone.

Prue grinned. It seemed that the hypnotic interrogation hadn't broken the false personas her friend from the UK had installed for just such a situation. Sara was an accomplished hypnotist in her own right, and was part of the UK branch of the company working as a contact for Hugglebug clients.

Prue eased the door wider. The van was parked a few feet away with its sliding door still open. Seeing the men were somewhere out of sight on the far side, Prue took a gamble. She slipped off her shoes and padded barefoot to the van. Inside she found both of their purses lying inside. She grabbed them and retreated to the office, easing the door closed again.

Michelle had just taken possession of the rental and the driver had taken the cab back to his depot. Now she was alone, she pulled out her one piece of luggage and began assembly of her specially modified weapon from the assorted junk pile of electronics she carried. Once the Tazer was assembled, she wondered if she should try her friend's cell phones again. As she picked it up to do just that, it began to ring.

"Hello?" Michelle listened to Prue's hurried conversation, relief warring with concern, as her friend outlined the plan she had concocted. "Why not just call the cops?" She asked, thinking Prue's plan was a bit harebrained.

"I heard the two men talking to their boss. It's likely he will be coming here, so I'd like to catch up with him," Prue answered.

"Okay, but if you need me, just hit the speed dial and I'll be right there," Michelle promised.

Prue hung up, overjoyed that Michelle was outside waiting. She whispered her news to Kim as they pulled various items from their handbags.

The two abductors heard shouts coming from the office where the two women were being held. Although distance isolated the captives so that their voices wouldn't be overheard by anyone outside, it was annoying, so they decided to gag them till their boss arrived. Picking up some duct tape, they re-entered the office to see the two women struggling in their seats. The man with the tape tore off a piece and handed it to his accomplice before moving towards Prue. As both men leaned close to tape the women's mouths, both Prue and Kim sprayed the two men with the aerosol perfume they had concealed behind their backs. The two men stiffened under the influence of the paralysing neural toxin/hypnotic Kim had developed.

Immediately, both women got out of their chairs, the ropes they had arranged to look like they were still fastened securely, falling away as they stood up. They caught the two men before they folded to the floor, easing them down without injury. Next, Prue called Michelle who came in like a flash. They stripped the two men down to their underwear and then both Prue and Kim did the same, leaving only their panties on.

Concentrating for a few minutes, the two women became carbon copies of the men closest to their original body sizes. This meant that Prue became the shorter more intelligent looking man, and Kim became the heavier set man.

Then they donned the appropriate man's clothing. "Why do I suddenly feel like eating a banana?" Kim quipped as she pulled the coat over her suddenly huge shoulders.

"Maybe because it's APE propriate," chuckled Prue, making fun of Kim's new form.

Both Kim and Prue had experienced being men before, using special non-permanent Hugglebugs so it wasn't too much to of a surprise.

Michelle laughed, seeing what was coming next, as Prue opened her Midol packet. Each pill in the pack held a particular Hugglebug nanite form. Michelle helped slip a pill under the tongues of the men, who then started their own transformation. The larger of the two started to shrink across the shoulders and has arms shortened. Soon he was looking less like an ape man than he'd been, eventually looking like Kim in her Michelle form. The other shrank too, but his final form was different. He ended up as a redhead about the same physical size as and with the appearance of Prue's borrowed form.

While the paralyzing toxin was wearing off, Prue and Kim took advantage of the hypnotic to program some responses and added a few trigger words for good measure. Once the newly minted women began to shrug off the toxin, Prue commanded them to get dressed in the female apparel that Prue and Kim had been wearing.

Due to the hypnotic commands, the two former men were forced to act like the females they now were. They seemed distraught that they were wearing men's underwear, so Kim went out to the van and produced two pairs of panties from their luggage

It took a lot of control not to laugh as the "women" struggled into their bras. The dichotomy between the thought and action seemed hilarious, as the two, who now thought of themselves as female, couldn't understand why they were having so much trouble putting on something they should be used to wearing everyday.

Michelle finally took pity on them and aided them, while Kim and Prue went outside for a minute or so to get the amusement out of their system.

"Sandra and Catherine are dressed now," Michelle announced after about five minutes.

The two women had been given the names that Prue and Kim had used on their false passports. Prue and Kim came back in to see the women putting on lipstick that Michelle had given them from the purses Prue had brought inside.

They waited till they finished before giving the code phrase that would turn the women's minds back into their former male identities.

At once, their posture changed and protests burst forth at what had happened to them.

"QUIET," thundered Prue, knowing that due to the programming earlier, the former men would have to obey them.

The women fell silent, but distress showed in their eyes at the sight of their current bodies and the clothes they were wearing.

They answered the questions Prue asked about their former lives and the situation with their bosses' arrival, without fuss, having been commanded to tell the truth. Armed with the new information, plans had to be made. Prue, being the person she was, didn't want to stress the male egos hidden inside their new feminine exterior too much, even though in her mind they deserved some punishment. She spoke the code word that sent the two men back into their false personas, easing the stresses on the new women's minds.

Prue, Kim and Michelle went outside to discuss what to do next.

"There's something fishy going on here," Prue muttered, feeling that something the two newly transformed had confessed was warning her of danger.

"Why? Because he's from the Middle East?" asked Kim expectantly.

"No it wasn't that," Prue answered, trying not to let cultural differences colour her thoughts. "He wanted 'us' so he can get the secret of changing men into women."

"So? That's what we do," replied Michelle.

"But we don't just do male to female. He didn't seem interested in female to male changes. Given that the majority of women are treated like second class citizens in the Middle East, why would he be interested in that particular transformation?"

"I see what you mean," agreed Kim. "Those two inside, said he lives in the Middle East and is only here visiting. If he holds the regions biased views about women being less than a man, I can't see much point in his interest."

"It might be why he wasn't interested in the female to male transformation though," Michelle pointed out. He wouldn't want women climbing up to the status of being men," she suggested.

"We need question him further …" agreed Prue, "much further."

Plans were made and discarded, as the flaws in them were pointed out. Knowing that Raymond Hammond, the name the boss was currently going by would probably have several bodyguards, interrogating him here would be out of the question.

Everyone took their positions, as the cell phone in Prue's hand announced the arrival of their target. Blessing the special nanites that precisely mimicked the voice belonging to the body she now wore, she answered the phone.

"Boss, I suggest leaving the car outside," she answered, as part of her plan.

Prue waved to Kim to open the personnel door next to the closed roller door, as she outlined her reasons. "We are now criminals in the eyes of the law with the abduction of our captives. I suggest having the car readied for a quick exit, and have the driver stay at the wheel."

Seeing Kim signal that there were two bodyguards and a driver with Raymond, Prue further suggested leaving one guard outside the warehouse.

Raymond grumbled, but agreed, seeing the reason behind it. Then he hung up the phone and exited the limo, leaving instructions with the driver. His bodyguards got out too, scouring the area for threats with grim determination. Kim shook hands with Raymond and escorted him and one guard inside. The other guard stood outside, looking unhappy at leaving his charge side.

"Hello Ray," greeted Prue, as the three men walked over to the van where she/he was standing. "I have the women inside with my expert interrogator."

"Interrogator?" asked a disturbed Raymond, not liking to be surprised by the news that there was a stranger present.

"She's an ex-girlfriend of mine, and one of the best there is." Prue stated. "I thought a female might get more out of them than a man could," she explained.

Raymond signalled to his guard to check out the office where the women were being held. Prue opened the door to allow the guard to check out the room thoroughly. The guard seemed satisfied after patting Michelle down for any weapons. Of course, Michelle played up to him, moaning a little as his hands ran up her legs.

"Everything checks out boss," the guard called out to Raymond.

Raymond then entered the office with Prue and Kim right on his tail. Raymond at once checked out Michelle, running his eyes up and down her form, seemingly satisfied that she was no threat and dismissing her from his attention.

"I suggest your guard remain outside, unless you want him privy to what the women know," Prue began as the captives looked fearfully on as previously instructed by hypnotic command.

Raymond nodded, and waved the guard's protests aside, telling him to wait outside till he called. As soon as the guard was outside and the door closed, Raymond found himself in trouble. While Prue held him and kept him from yelling, Michelle sprayed him with the hypnotic spray from her perfume bottle. Unlike the one that Prue had used on their abductors, this didn't contain a paralysing agent. Both Prue and Kim had to hold him still while it took effect.

Once Raymond stopped struggling, they knew they had to work fast. Prue gave him some commands that would force him to trust them and obey her instructions. Once that, and a trigger phrase to go back into a deep trance was done, they released him after ensuring that he forgot the last few minutes.

Prue then told Raymond that they should go to a more secure area where they could question the captives without fear of interruption or having cops come looking for the stolen van they'd used.

"We can use the car Miranda rented to help ferry our passengers," suggested Prue, having hastily changed Michelle's name to Miranda.

"I'll drive and one of your guards can keep the women company," Miranda urged, giving Prue a sour look at her instant name change.

Prue shrugged an apology at her once Raymond turned away from her and was heading for the door. Soon, the newly minted women were escorted to Miranda's car, along with one of the guards. Prue and Kim sat in the limo with Raymond and the other guard, while the driver moved out.

Prue knew this part was going to be very risky, but trusted her hypnotic command for Raymond to go somewhere where they could have some privacy. The driver got his instructions to drive to an address in Long Beach.

When they arrived, Michelle was waved through the gate, following on the heels of the limo on instructions conveyed by the driver via Raymond. Both cars drove into the underground garage of the villa like dwelling.

Everyone got out and Raymond took the lead, taking them to another room on the same level as the garage. Prue noticed that the door was solid, and much thicker than normal, so she assumed that this was a soundproofed room. This was confirmed once they got inside, by the bondage gear fitted to the walls. The guard led the two women to chairs which were fitted with restraints and bolted to the floor. Once they were secured there, the guard went over and stood by the door.

Prue whispered to Raymond about having too many ears listening, tilting her head towards the guard. Raymond nodded, not even needing the hypnotic command to see that was a good idea.

"Steven, I want you to seal this area and allow no one inside this level till I tell you to," Raymond commanded authoritatively.

The guard acknowledged the order and left, leaving them alone. Although they were now deep in enemy territory, Prue felt a sense of relief that they wouldn't be disturbed for some time. Now hopefully, they could find out what Raymond intended.

It was worse than she'd feared. Raymond was a terrorist. Once back in a hypnotic trance, he revealed that he had plans to spread an aerial borne nanite plague that would transform men living in America to women, his reasoning being that suddenly becoming women, and demoralised at becoming what he regarded as second class citizens would make them easily defeated. Prue fumed and paced furiously across the room, her mind trying to find a solution that would take care of Raymond and his cohorts without jeopardising their own safety.

Probing further, Prue found out that Raymond was to leave the states soon with a progress report to his backers on this novel concept of his. Somehow, Prue wanted to have them infected with a particular type of nanite that would teach them the error of their ways, and take care of the threat they posed at the same time.

She pulled Michelle over to one side and talked quietly for a few minutes before bringing Raymond out of the trance.

"Let these two leave, then come back here and feed the prisoners," ordered Raymond, as he indicated Michelle and Kim. "I expect them to come back tomorrow, so bring them directly to the house," he added as Prue followed Raymond up the stairs to the house.

Prue knew that staying with Raymond added to the risks she was taking even though she was in the guise of one of his trusted men, but having Kim stay as well only doubled those chances. No, it was better that Kim go with Michelle to get the nanite solution she wanted from the Hugglebug satellite plant in the States.

Of course Raymond was under the impression that Michelle was going to bring back what he wanted, "having extracted the information" from the prisoners.

Prue dined well that evening, although the company left much to be desired. Once Raymond had assigned a room for her to sleep in, she begged off the evening's entertainment, pleading fatigue and a mild headache. In the morning, after breakfast, she was allowed to check on the prisoners. They were slumped in the same chairs as the night before, obviously having been kept that way all night. Prue felt awful that she hadn't insisted they be treated more humanely. All this only steeled her resolve to go through with her plan. She wondered how many of the guards knew of Raymond's ultimate plan. Most of them were not of Middle Eastern extraction, probably just hired locally from various nefarious sources.

Kim came back alone late afternoon. Michelle wisely stayed away as a backup for "just in case." Kim carried a carton of Coors under one arm and a small plain box in the other hand. Prue took the box and passed it on to Raymond, while Kim distributed the beer among the guards. Raymond put the box into his safe, and there, Prue triggered the hypnotic phrase that sent him under for the last time. She gave him very specific instructions before bringing him out of his trance. Prue then gave him bogus instructions on the nanites deployment, supposedly given by the prisoners.

Prue gathered the two prisoners, along with Kim, and left Raymond's house, using the car Kim had driven. Raymond was of course under the impression that all three, now that they were of no more use, were to be terminated by her at an undisclosed location.

Kim sat quietly beside Prue as they drove away, but Prue could see Kim's relief as they put distance between Raymond and themselves. Prue noticed a cab tailing them, so she slowed and as it pulled along side, Michelle waved at them from the rear. So Prue stopped and Michelle transferred to their car, after paying off the cabbie.

They drove directly to the plant where Kim had programmed the nanites Raymond wanted for his plan. Before they arrived, Prue triggered the hypnotic trigger that sent the two changed women into a trance. Prue didn't want to take the chance of them knowing the whereabouts of the US branch even though they would soon be embarking on a far different life than before. Now that they were out of public view, Kim and Prue morphed back into their own bodies again.

While Michelle hustled up documentation for the new additions to the sisterhood, they used a new nanite, designed to wear off a year later to give them different forms than their own. Prue and Kim didn't want an extra set of their bodies running around unsupervised. Prue supplied them both with enough identification and money to live as the women they appeared to be. They also gave them a pocket edition of their new lives while under hypnosis and a small aerosol can.

They took them back out to the car as Michelle drove them to the bus depot and then brought the two women out of the trance. The two women separated due to the hypnotic prompting, set off into their new lives.

"What do you think will happen when the nanites start to reverse the changes in a year?" asked Michelle, once she was reunited with the others.

"Attractive as they are, and having all memories of being men locked away, I should think they will end up with boyfriends, or even lovers." Prue grinned.

"What if they get pregnant?"

"Can't happen," Kim interrupted. "The nanite will prevent fertilisation during their time as women. Only if they want to continue as women, will we give them that choice."

"We hope that the time they spend as women will change their attitudes. Just before the changes reverse, their memories of being men will resurface while they will retain all their memories of their time as women. That's when they each will have to make a choice. They both have been given hypnotic incentives to get a job and build a life as women. Once their memories return they will know that within a week they will become men again. If at that time, they want to remain female, they will remember the small aerosol can we gave them with a permanent version nanite of their female forms."

"I'd love to be there then," giggled Michelle.

"Wouldn't we all," agreed Prue and Kim simultaneously, making everyone laugh.

"I still say that they are being rewarded, rather than punished," Kim grumbled.

"I think the agony of their ultimate decision will be enough. If they opt for remaining a man, how will they reconcile they way they felt as a women and having sex with a male?" Prue posed the question.

"Let's get out of here. I want to get home and eat a tub of Hokey Pokey ice cream," Michelle urged, licking her lips.

"Just as well your form is fixed, otherwise you'd probably look like a whale, the amount of ice cream you eat," laughed Prue, as she set the security alarms prior to leaving.

"Whale, she does that on porpoise, you know," chuckled Kim, as they all headed to the car.

Four days later in the Auckland lab, Kim once again ran excitedly into Prue's office.

"I think I cracked it," Kim rejoiced.

"Your head?" quipped Prue with a grin.

"No. The answer to Michelle's permanent nanite form. "Kim replied, the joke passing her notice completely.

"Great, how did you bypass the nanites defences against new intrusions of nanites?" Asked Prue interestedly.

"Well… they sneak in under disguise." Began Kim. "Michelle stands naked in front of a mirror while the morphing nanite is injected. She then concentrates her mind on her form as it is, making the new nanites mimic the nanites already in her body. The old nanites won't attack themselves, and while they think the new nanites are just like themselves, they will leave them alone. I set up an extra program within the new nanites so they attach to the old nanites. They are all attached in about 15 minutes and then the new nanites infect the old nanites with a logic bomb virus, destroying them."

"Do you think this will work?" asked Prue, having followed Kim's logic.

"See for yourself," Kim grinned as Michelle walked into the office.

Prue watched, as Michelle's form shimmered and altered, becoming a twin to Prue's.

"Tah dah!" Michelle cried, doing a twirl and nearly tripping over her skirt which had slipped off her smaller form and lay in a tangle at her feet.

"Oops!"

Prue and Kim giggled at the sight of Michelle's suddenly red face.

"Kim? I want this made available to any staff that have the permanent form of nanites," ordered Prue.

"Can I get a pay rise, or a clothing allowance, seeing I'll be able to change sizes now?" Michelle pleaded hopefully.

"Out!" Prue thundered, pointing at the door. She grinned at the sight of them both trying to scramble out the door first. When they were gone, Prue made a note to increase their wages, as they certainly both deserved it.

The end

 

Postscript. In a small room somewhere in Iraq, a group of men gathered. They were called together to discuss the plans that their leader Raymond Hammond had come up with. Once all the men were seated, Raymond secured the door for security reasons, never knowing that it was all part of post hypnotic command given to him a week ago. Once the door was secure, he went over and sat at the table where a small box sat.

"Welcome. Today we have the means to rid ourselves of the tyranny of the hated Americans," he boasted with a grin on his face.

Raymond leaned forward and broke the seal on the box. As he opened the lid, he suddenly wondered why he'd never even thought to open it until now. A hiss ensued and a white vapour filled the room, as the nanite can was triggered to release its promised cargo. Chaos ensued, as men began shouting, and scrambled towards the now locked door. Raymond stood paralysed as he realised the import of the gas. Too late, he turned towards the door to escape his fate. Men began falling as the anaesthetic gas containing the nanites took its toll. Soon silence reigned as the forms on the floor slowly changed.

The guards outside the complex were puzzled by the appearance of the strange women when they finally decided to break the door down some hours later. Even dressed in men's clothes, they were still obviously beautiful. The guards hauled the unconscious women out and handed them to their womenfolk to be properly dressed in Abayahs and the scarf-like Hejab. Of the men thought to be in the room, no sign was ever found. Needless to say, the threat to change the men of America never arose…oops, sorry about that…giggle.

  

  

  

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